Having your legs amputated at the age of 19 is a life-altering tragedy that would be difficult to bounce back from. Unless you are Paralympics bronze medalist Amy Purdy, who is currently dominating on this season’s Dancing with the Stars.

After contracting a form of bacterial meningitis and losing her legs, as well as her kidneys, hearing from her left ear, and part of her left lung, she ended up leaving the hospital with a fighting spirit.

Since her procedures, Purdy done things people can only dream of doing. She starred in an indie movie, a Madonna music video, and competed on season 21 of The Amazing Race with boyfriend of 10 years, Daniel Gale.

Most notably, she began snowboarding, a sport she had taken up at 15 years old just seven months after receiving her prosthetic legs.